Factors affecting severity and prognosis of traumatic brain injury among Bangladeshi patients: An institution based cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) proves to be an obstacle for Bangladeshi patients due to the lack of facilities and specialist doctors in regional sections of the country. This study aimed to record different attributes of Bangladeshi TBI patients over a year i.e., their injury characteristics, treatments received and understand their impacts on the severity of TBI. METHOD: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 280 TBI patients treated in a tertiary care hospital in Dhaka. The physicians determined TBI's severity and prognosis as per the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) respectively. RESULTS: Most TBI patients were male (76.1%) and aged between 18 and 50 years (52.2%), as in previous studies in South Asian countries. However, the prevalence of TBI due to road traffic accidents (RTAs) was much higher (67.9%) than in the earlier studies in South Asia. Additionally, more patients suffered from severe TBI (29.3%) and moderate TBI (35.7%), and a higher percentage of patients went through surgery (56.8%) compared to previous studies. A significant association of demographic (residence) and clinical characteristics (consciousness after injury, CT scan findings and treatment type) with the severity of TBI was found in bivariate analysis. It also revealed the significant dependence of clinical characteristics (TBI etiology, post-injury consciousness, treatment type and TBI severity) on TBI prognosis. Multivariate analysis showed that patients who were unconscious after TBI and with evident brain injury observed in CT scans have a substantially higher risk of having moderate or severe TBI than mild TBI. Moreover, patients with TBI due to RTAs or falls, evident brain injury in CT scans, post-surgical seizure, and moderate or severe TBI have a significantly higher risk of getting a more unfavorable TBI prognosis than moderate disability. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, RTAs were found to be the major cause of TBI. Additionally, some variables were identified as possible determinants of TBI severity and prognosis among Bangladeshi patients. The correlation of these variables with TBI should be further studied with the hopes that steps will be taken to reduce TBI incidents and improve its management to reduce the overall burden.

Comparison of Glasgow Coma Scale Full Outline of UnResponsiveness and Glasgow Coma Scale: Pupils Score for Predicting Outcome in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background: Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score is the most widely used clinical score for the initial assessment of neurologically injured patients and is also frequently used for prognostication. Other scores such as the Full Outline of UnResponsivness (FOUR) score and the Glasgow Coma Scale-Pupils (GCS-P) score have been more recently developed and are gaining popularity. This prospective cohort study was conducted to compare various scores in terms of their ability to predict outcomes at 3 months in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Materials and methods: The study was carried out between October 2020 and March 2022. Patients who presented to the hospital with TBI were assessed for inclusion. Initial coma scores were assessed in the emergency department and again after 48 hours of admission. Outcome was assessed using the extended Glasgow outcome score (GOSE) at 3 months after injury. The receiver operating curve (ROC) was plotted to correlate coma scores with the outcome, and the area under the curve (AUC) was compared. Results: A total of 355 patients with TBI were assessed for eligibility, of which 204 patients were included in the study. The AUC values to predict poor outcomes for initial GCS, FOUR, and GCS-P scores were 0.75 each. The AUC values for 48-hour coma scores were 0.88, 0.87, and 0.88, respectively. Conclusion: The GCS, FOUR, and GCS-P scores were found to be comparable in predicting the functional outcome at 3 months as assessed by GOSE. However, coma scores assessed at 48 hours were better predictors of poor outcomes at 3 months than coma scores recorded initially at the time of hospital admission. How to cite this article: Chawnchhim AL, Mahajan C, Kapoor I, Sinha TP, Prabhakar H, Chaturvedi A. Comparison of Glasgow Coma Scale Full Outline of UnResponsiveness and Glasgow Coma Scale: Pupils Score for Predicting Outcome in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury. Indian J Crit Care Med 2024;28(3):256-264.

Evaluation of the last 2 decades in the characteristics of presentation, management and prognosis of serious spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in a third level hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the change in the characteristics of presentation, evolution and treatment in the ICU, as well as the functional evolution at 12 months of spontaneous intracranial hemorrhages (ICHs) treated in an ICU reference center. PATIENT AND METHODS: Descriptive, retrospective study in a Neurocritical Reference Hospital. All admissions of patients with HICE during three periods are studied: 1999-2001 (I), 2015-2016 (II) and 2020-2021 (III). Evolution in the three periods of demographic variables, baseline characteristics of the patients, clinical variables and characteristics of bleeding, evolutionary data in the ICU are studied. At one year we assessed the GOS scale (Glasgow Outcome Score) according to whether they had a poor (GOS 1-3) or good (GOS 4-5) prognosis. RESULTS: 300 admitted patients, distributed in periods: I: 28.7%, II: 36.3% and III: 35%. 56.7% were males aged 66 (55.5-74) years; ICH score 2 (1-3). The ICU stay was 5 (2-14) days with a mortality of 36.8%. GOS 1-3 a year in 67.3% and GOS 4-5 in 32.7%. Comparing the three periods, we observed a higher prevalence in women, and the presence of cardiovascular factors; no changes in etiology; in relation to the location, it increases cerebellar hemorrhage and in the brainstem. Although the severity was greater, the stay in the ICU, the use of invasive mechanical ventilation and tracheostomy were lower. Open surgery has decreased its use by 50%. Mortality continues to be high, stagnating in the ICU at 35% and entails a high degree of disability one year after assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Severe ICH is a complex pathology that has changed some characteristics in the last two decades, with more severe patients, with more cardiovascular history and a greater predominance of brainstem and cerebellar hemorrhage. Despite the increase in severity, better parameters during the ICU stay, with open surgery used 50% less. Mortality remains stagnant at 35% with high disability per year.

The importance of additional intracranial injuries in epidural hematomas: detailed clinical analysis, long-term outcome, and literature review in surgically managed epidural hematomas.

Objective: Epidural hematomas (EDH) occur in up to 8.2% of all traumatic brain injury patients, with more than half needing surgical treatment. In most patients suffering from this perilous disease, good recovery with an excellent clinical course is possible. However, the clinical course is mainly dependent on the presence of additional intracerebral injuries. Few studies comparing isolated and combined EDH in detail exist. Methods: We performed a retrospective single-center study from April 2002 to December 2014. The mean follow-up time was more than 6 years. In addition to analyzing diverse clinicoradiological data, we performed a systematic literature review dealing with a detailed comparison of patients with (combined) and without (isolated) additional intracerebral injuries. Results: We included 72 patients in the study. With increasing age, combined EDH had a higher incidence than isolated EDH. The mortality rate of the patients in the cohort was 10%, of which 0% had isolated EDH and 10% had combined EDH. Good recovery was achieved in 69% of patients, of which 91% had isolated EDH and 50% had combined EDH. A subgroup analysis of the different additional intracerebral injuries in combined EDH demonstrated no significant difference in outcome. A systematic literature review only identified six studies. Patients with isolated EDH had a statistically significantly lower mortality risk [relative risk (RR): 0.22; 95% CI: 0.12-0.39] and a statistically significantly lower risk of unfavorable Glasgow outcome scale score (RR: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.14-0.31) than patients with combined EDH. Conclusions: An excellent outcome in patients with surgically treated isolated EDH is possible. Furthermore, patients with combined EDH or isolated EDH with a low Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score may have favorable outcomes in 50% of the cases. Therefore, every possible effort for treatment should be made for this potentially lethal injury.

Clinical Profile, Corticosteroid Usage and Predictors of Mortality in Near-hanging Patients: A Five-year, Single-center Retrospective Study.

Background: Hanging is the most common method of suicide in India. When near-hanging patients reach the hospital for treatment, their neurological outcome ranges from full recovery to severe neurological impairment or death. This study looked at the clinical profile, usage of corticosteroids and predictors of mortality in near-hanging patients. Materials and methods: This retrospective study was conducted from May 2017 to April 2022. Demographic, clinical, and treatment details were collected from case records. Neurological outcome at discharge was assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). Results: The study involved 323 patients, 60% of men with a median (interquartile range) age of 30 (20-39). At the time of admission, the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) ≤8 in 110 (34%) patients, hypotension was present in 43 (13.3%) of patients, and 21 (6.5%) had hanging-induced cardiac arrest. About 101 patients required intensive care unit care. Corticosteroid therapy was given to 219 patients (67.8%) as part of anti-cerebral edema measures. Good neurological recovery was found (GOS-5) in 84.2% of patients, and the death rate (GOS-1) was 9.3%. Univariate logistic regression showed that usage of corticosteroids is significantly associated with poor survival (p < 0.02, odds ratio 4.7). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, GCS ≤8, hypotension, need for intensive care, hanging-induced cardiac arrest, aspiration pneumonia, and severe cerebral edema were found to be significantly associated with mortality. Conclusion: The majority of near-hanging patients had a good neurological recovery. Corticosteroids were used in two-thirds of the study population. There were multiple variables associated with mortality. How to cite this article: Ramadoss R, Sekar D, Rameesh M, Saibaba J, Raman D. Clinical Profile, Corticosteroid Usage and Predictors of Mortality in Near-hanging Patients: A Five-year, Single-center Retrospective Study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(6):403-410.

Value of unenhanced CT-based 5-point predictive score combined with blood glucose detection for predicting short-term prognosis in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage / 中国基层医药

Objective:To investigate the value of a 5-point predictive score based on unenhanced CT combined with blood glucose detection for predicting short-term prognosis in patients with spontaneous cerebral hemorrhage.Methods:A total of 102 patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage who received treatment in Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital from March 2020 to March 2022 were included in this study and analyzed retrospectively. Blood glucose level was measured and BAT score was used to evaluate hematoma enlargement. After 30 days, Glasgow Outcome Scale was used to evaluate the prognosis of patients. The relationships between blood glucose and BAT score, and between blood glucose and BAT score and prognosis were analyzed. The value of blood glucose and BAT score for predicting short-term prognosis was analyzed.Results:The Glasgow Outcome Scale results showed that among the 102 patients, 24 patients (23.53%) had poor prognosis. The BAT score and blood glucose level in patients with poor prognosis were (3.13 ± 0.68) points and (11.58 ± 2.30) mmol/L, respectively, which were significantly higher than (2.40 ± 0.59) points and (8.88 ± 1.71) mmol/L in patients with good prognosis ( t = 5.10, 5.30, both P < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage, blood glucose level was positively correlated with BAT score ( r = 0.43, P < 0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage, blood glucose level and BAT level were positively correlated with prognosis ( r = 0.42, 0.47, both P < 0.05). The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the area under the curve plotted for BAT score combined with blood glucose level for predicting short-term prognosis was 0.874, which was significantly greater than the area under the curve plotted for BAT score alone for predicting short-term prognosis ( Z = 2.54, P < 0.05). Conclusion:A large proportion of patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage have a poor prognosis. The patients with a poor prognosis have higher blood glucose levels and BAT scores than those with good prognosis. Blood glucose and BAT score have a high value for predicting the prognosis of patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.

The Prediction of Outcomes in Patients Admitted With Traumatic Brain Injury Using the Rotterdam Score.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to use the Rotterdam score, which is based on a CT scan, to assess the outcomes of traumatic brain injury patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This research, which included 319 head trauma patients, was carried out at the neurosurgery department of a tertiary care hospital between June 2019 and December 2020. The Rotterdam score was calculated for each patient on the basis of the first CT scan after the head injury. The Glasgow Outcome Score was used to assess the results three months following the injury. RESULTS: In our research, there were 270 male patients (84.6%) and 49 female patients (15.4%). The mean age was 37.4 ± 15.4 years and road traffic accidents were observed in 275 people (86.2%). Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) was seen in 123 patients (38.6%). The most common Rotterdam score was 2 in 86 (27.0%) patients, while it was score 3 in 72 (22.6%), score 4 in 59 (18.5%), score 5 in 41 (12.9%), score 1 in 31 (9.7%) and score 6 in 29 (9.1%). The mortality rate was 33.5% in our patients and good recovery was seen in 150 (47.0%) patients. CONCLUSION: The Rotterdam score is a useful tool to evaluate and predict outcomes in head trauma patients.

Role of Serum Homocysteine and Outcome in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background There have been indications of a correlation between serum homocysteine (Hcy) levels and poor patient outcomes in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Thus, we aimed to explore the role of serum Hcy in influencing the outcome post TBI. Methods A case-control study was conducted at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) between January 15, 2022 and July 1, 2022. All patients between the ages of 18 and 75 years who presented with TBI, irrespective of severity, were included in the study. All patients with neurological disorders and infections, including but not limited to cerebral tuberculosis, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, brain cancer, Parkinson's, and stroke, were excluded from the study. For comparison, healthy controls with similar demographics were enrolled in the study. All patients and controls underwent biochemical evaluation of serum Hcy and neurological assessment at presentation. In addition, all sociodemographic and clinical parameters, including the Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS), were collected in a predefined pro forma. Results A total of 175 patients were included who had experienced TBIs, along with an equal number of healthy controls. The most common etiology was road traffic accidents in 82 (46.9%) patients. The mean Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) at presentation was 5.78 ± 1.72. The mean Hcy levels were 31.4 ± 7.97 µmol/L in TBI patients and 11.12 ± 5.87 µmol/L in the control healthy patients (p=0.001). It was found that the severity of hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) was significantly related to the worst outcome possible, i.e., death (p=0.001). Conclusion The study concluded that patients who had suffered from a TBI had significantly higher serum Hcy levels. Furthermore, the study highlighted that the patients with the worst outcomes had more severe hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) than those with better outcomes. Moreover, patients with low GOS scores were more likely to have HHcy.

Head Injury and Pregnancy-Does the Outcome Differ? A Descriptive Analysis of 15 Years from a Single Tertiary Care Center.

BACKGROUND: There are conflicting data about the outcome of head injury in pregnant patients. Since they comprise a small proportion of the traumatic brain-injured (TBI) patients, the literature is sparse on true evidence on this issue. METHODS: A 15-year observational study to analyze the outcome of TBI in pregnant women admitted to a level 1 trauma center from 2005-2020 was carried out with the approval of institutional review board. Female patients aged 18-50 years admitted with TBI were included. Patients with polytrauma or dead-on arrival to the emergency department were excluded from the study. The vital parameters, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score at admission, Rotterdam computed tomography (CT) scan, severity score, and Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) at 3 months were collected from the trauma database, discharge summaries, and patient records. RESULTS: During the study period, 5071 patients with head injury were admitted. Among the 228 patients who met inclusion criteria, 31 (13.6%) were pregnant with a mean age of 24.2 ± 3.8 years. The Rotterdam CT severity score, which moderately correlated with outcome in the control group, was found to be a poor predictor in the pregnant group. The outcome measures were compared using GCS score at discharge for immediate and GOS at 3 months for long-term periods. A better functional outcome was observed at 3 months among pregnant patients (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant TBI patients have better long-term outcomes than their similar-aged counterparts. However, radiologic severity of injury does not seem to predict outcome in this cohort.

The prognostic significance of biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid following severe traumatic brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

After severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) proteins, neurotrophic factors and inflammatory markers are released into the biofluids. This review and meta-analysis searched the literature for prognostic candidate cerebrospinal fluid markers and their relation to sTBI patient outcome. A systematic search of the literature was carried out across PubMed, EMBASE, PubMed Central (PMC), and Cochrane Central Library. Biomarker concentrations were related to the Glasgow Outcome Scale dichotomized into favorable and unfavorable outcomes. When a biomarker was reported in ≥ 3 studies, it was included in meta-analysis. The search returned 1527 articles. After full-text analysis, 54 articles were included, 34 from the search, and 20 from the reference lists. Of 9 biomarkers, 8 were significantly different compared to controls (IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNFα, sFas, BDNF, and cortisol). Of these, 5 were significantly increased in sTBI patients with unfavorable outcome (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNFα, and cortisol), compared to patients with favorable outcome. This review demonstrated a correlation between 5 biomarkers and clinical outcome in sTBI patients. The paucity of included studies, however, makes it difficult to extrapolate further on this finding.

Effect of Cerebrolysin in severe traumatic brain injury: A multi-center, retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients with nonoperative lesions are known to have a poorer prognosis. Recent and ongoing clinical studies have been exploring the utility of Cerebrolysin in improving patient outcomes among TBI patients; however, few studies are available on the effect of Cerebrolysin among nonoperative severe TBI patients. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects of Cerebrolysin as add-on therapy to the standard medical decompression protocol for nonoperative severe TBI patients. METHODS: The study employed a retrospective cohort design and included 87 severe TBI patients on admission. In addition to the current medical decompression protocol, 42 patients received 30 ml/day Cerebrolysin for 14 days, followed by a subsequent 10 ml/day dosage for another 14 days. The control group included 45 patients who received the standard decompression protocol only. Stata MP version 16 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, a significantly higher proportion of patients who received Cerebrolysin treatment achieved a favourable outcome at Day 21 post-TBI (50% vs. 87%; p < 0.00001) and GOS ≥ 4 (18% vs. 39%; p = 0.043). The mean length of hospital stay was approximately seven days shorter in the Cerebrolysin group (25.61 days vs. 31.92 days; p < 0.00001), and a significantly lower proportion of Cerebrolysin patients had a LOS ≥ 30 days (Cerebrolysin: 13%; Control: 51%; p < 0.0001). No significant group differences were seen in the 28-day mortality rate. CONCLUSION: Cerebrolysin is beneficial for severe TBI patients with nonoperative lesions as evidenced by stronger improvement in GCS/GOS and shorter length of hospital stay than standard treatment alone.

Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in children-paradigm of decompressive craniectomy compared to a historic cohort.

PURPOSE: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death and disability in children. Medical therapy remains limited, and decompressive craniectomy (DC) is an established rescue therapy in case of elevated intracranial pressure (ICP). Much discussion deals with clinical outcome after severe TBI treated with DC, while data on the pediatric population is rare. We report our experience of treating severe TBI in two different treatment setups at the same academic institution. METHODS: Forty-eight patients (≤ 16 years) were hospitalized with severe TBI (GCS ≤ 8 points) between 2008 and 2018 in a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) at a specialized tertiary pediatric care center. Data on treatment, clinical status, and outcome was retrospectively analyzed. Outcome data included Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) at 3-, 12-, and 36-month follow-up. Data was compared to a historic cohort with 53 pediatric severe TBI patients treated at the same institution in a neurointensive care unit between 1996 and 2007. Ethical approval was granted (EA2/076/21). RESULTS: Between 2008 and 2018, 11 patients were treated with DC. Compared to the historic cohort, patients were younger and GCS was worse, while in-hospital mortality and clinical outcome remained similar. A trend towards more aggressive EVD placement and the internal paradigm change for treatment in a specialized pediatric ICU was observed. CONCLUSIONS: In children with severe TBI treated over two decades, clinical outcome was comparable and mostly favorable in two different treatment setups. Consequent therapy is warranted to maintain the positive potential for favorable outcome in children with severe TBI.

Association between blood glucose levels and Glasgow Outcome Score in patients with traumatic brain injury: secondary analysis of a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Blood glucose levels that are too high or too low after traumatic brain injury (TBI) negatively affect patient prognosis. This study aimed to demonstrate the relationship between blood glucose levels and the Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) in TBI patients. METHODS: This study was based on a randomized, dual-center, open-label clinical trial. A total of 208 patients who participated in the randomized controlled trial were followed up for 5 years. Information on the disease, laboratory examination, insulin therapy, and surgery for patients with TBI was collected as candidate variables according to clinical importance. Additionally, data on 5-year and 6-month GOS were collected as primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. For multivariate analysis, a generalized additive model (GAM) was used to investigate relationships between blood glucose levels and GOS. The results are presented as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). We further applied a two- piecewise linear regression model to examine the threshold effect of blood glucose level and GOS. RESULTS: A total of 182 patients were included in the final analysis. Multivariate GAM analysis revealed that a bell-shaped relationship existed between average blood glucose level and 5-year GOS score or 6-month GOS score. The inflection points of the average blood glucose level were 8.81 (95% CI: 7.43-9.48) mmol/L considering 5-year GOS as the outcome and were 8.88 (95% CI 7.43-9.74) mmol/L considering 6-month GOS score as the outcome. The same analysis revealed that there was also a bell relationship between average blood glucose levels and the favorable outcome group (GOS score ≥ 4) at 5 years or 6 months. CONCLUSION: In a population of patients with traumatic brain injury, blood glucose levels were associated with the GOS. There was also a threshold effect between blood glucose levels and the GOS. A blood glucose level that is either too high or too low conveys a poor prognosis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02161055 . Registered on 11 June 2014.

Continuous monitoring of intracranial pressure and partial oxygen pressure of brain tissue in patients with severe traumatic brain injury after standard decompressive craniectomy and microscopic hematoma removal / 中国综合临床

Objective:To investigate the effect of continuous intracranial pressure (ICP) and brain oxygen partial pressure (PbtO 2) monitoring and guiding treatment after the application of standard large bone flap decompression and microhematoma removal in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods:A retrospective analysis was done of 41 patients with TBI in Department of Neurosurgery in the Inner Mongolia People's Hospital from January 2018 to May 2020. Patients with Glasgow coma scale (GCS)<8 points were treatesd with microscopical removal of hematoma and contusion brain tissue and standard large bone flap decompression. Intraoperative intracranial pressure and brain tissue oxygen partial pressure monitoring probes were placed. Postoperatively, continuous intracranial pressure monitoring and partial oxygen pressure monitoring of brain tissue were performed, and target-based treatment under ICP and PbtO 2 monitoring was performed. According to the Glasgow Outcome (GOS) score after six months, patients were divided into a good outcome group (4-5 scores) and a poor outcome group (1-3 scores). There were 26 cases in good prognosis group and 15 cases in poor prognosis group. Linear regression analysis was used to further evaluate the relationship between PbtO 2, ICP and GOS score. The measurement data of normal distribution were compared by independent sample t-test. The counting data were expressed in cases (%), and the comparison between groups was adopted χ 2 inspection. The general linear bivariate Pearson correlation test was used. Results:The mean value of PbtO 2 (17.42±5.34) mmHg in the poor prognosis group was lower than that in the good prognosis group (24.65±5.61) mmHg, with statistical significance ( t=4.04, P<0.001). The mean value of ICP (22.32±3.45) mmHg in the poor prognosis group was higher than that (17.32±3.23) mmHg in the good prognosis group, with statistical significance ( t=4.15, P<0.001). Using PbtO 2 and ICP as independent variables and GOS score after 6 months as dependent variable, a regression equation was established ( Y=4.040 X+7.497; Y=-2.549 X+28.63). The mean value of PbtO 2 was positively correlated with GOS scores after 6 months in patients with severe head injury ( r=0.75, P<0.001). The mean value of ICP was negatively correlated with the prognosis of patients with severe head injury ( r=-0.87, P<0.001). Conclusion:The treatment guided by ICP combined with PbtO 2 monitoring is valuable in improving the prognosis of patients with severe traumatic brain injury after standard decompressive craniectomy, and may improve the prognosis 6 months after the injury.

Serum biomarkers in severe paediatric traumatic brain injury-a narrative review.

Severe traumatic brain injury continues to present complex management and prediction challenges for the clinician. While there is some evidence that better systems of care can improve outcome, multiple multi-centre randomised controlled trials of specific therapies have consistently failed to show benefit. In addition, clinicians are challenged in attempting to accurately predict which children will recover well and which children will have severe and persisting neurocognitive deficits. Traumatic brain injury is vastly heterogeneous and so it is not surprising that one therapy or approach, when applied to a mixed cohort of children in a clinical trial setting, has yielded disappointing results. Children with severe traumatic brain injury have vastly different brain injury pathologies of widely varying severity, in any number of anatomical locations at what may be disparate stages of brain development. This heterogeneity may also explain why clinicians are unable to accurately predict outcome. Biomarkers are objective molecular signatures of injury that are released following traumatic brain injury and may represent a way of unifying the heterogeneity of traumatic brain injury into a single biosignature. Biomarkers hold promise to diagnose brain injury severity, guide intervention selection for clinical trials, or provide vital prognostic information so that early intervention and rehabilitation can be planned much earlier in the course of a child's recovery. Serum S100B and serum NSE levels show promise as a diagnostic tool with biomarker levels significantly higher in children with severe TBI including children with inflicted and non-inflicted head injury. Serum S100B and serum NSE also show promise as a predictor of neurodevelopmental outcome. The role of biomarkers in traumatic brain injury is an evolving field with the potential for clinical application within the next few years.

Factors associated with hospital outcomes of patients with penetrating craniocerebral injuries in armed conflict areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a retrospective series.

INTRODUCTION: Penetrating craniocerebral injuries (PCCI) are types of open head injuries caused by sharp objects or missiles, resulting in communication between the cranial cavity and the external environment. This condition is deemed to be more prevalent in armed conflict regions where both civilians and military are frequently assaulted on the head, but paradoxically their hospital outcomes are under-reported. We aimed to identify factors associated with poor hospital outcomes of patients with PCCI. METHODS: This was a retrospective series of patients admitted at the Regional Hospital of Bukavu, DRC, from 2010 to 2020. We retrieved medical records of patients with PCCI operated in the surgical departments. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to find associations between patients' admission clinico-radiological parameters and hospital outcomes. Poor outcome was defined as a Glasgow Outcomes Score below 4. RESULTS: The prevalence of PCCI was 9.1% (91/858 cases) among admitted TBI patients. More than one-third (36.2%) of patients were admitted with GCS < 13, and 40.6% of them were unstable hemodynamic. Hemiplegia was found in 23.1% on admission. Eight patients had an intracerebral hemorrhage. Among the 69 operated patients, complications, mainly infectious, occurred in half (50.7%) of patients. Poor hospital outcomes were observed in 30.4% and associated with an admission GCS < 13, hemodynamic instability, intracerebral hemorrhage, and hemiplegia (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The hospital poor outcomes are observed when patients present with hemodynamic instability, an admission GCS < 13, intracerebral hemorrhage, and hemiplegia. There is a need for optimizing the initial care of patients with PCCI in armed conflict regions.

Fluid proteomics of CSF and serum reveal important neuroinflammatory proteins in blood-brain barrier disruption and outcome prediction following severe traumatic brain injury: a prospective, observational study.

BACKGROUND: Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption and a subsequent neuroinflammatory process. We aimed to perform a multiplex screening of brain enriched and inflammatory proteins in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in order to study their role in BBB disruption, neuroinflammation and long-term functional outcome in TBI patients and healthy controls. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, observational study on 90 severe TBI patients and 15 control subjects. Clinical outcome data, Glasgow Outcome Score, was collected after 6-12 months. We utilized a suspension bead antibody array analyzed on a FlexMap 3D Luminex platform to characterize 177 unique proteins in matched CSF and serum samples. In addition, we assessed BBB disruption using the CSF-serum albumin quotient (QA), and performed Apolipoprotein E-genotyping as the latter has been linked to BBB function in the absence of trauma. We employed pathway-, cluster-, and proportional odds regression analyses. Key findings were validated in blood samples from an independent TBI cohort. RESULTS: TBI patients had an upregulation of structural CNS and neuroinflammatory pathways in both CSF and serum. In total, 114 proteins correlated with QA, among which the top-correlated proteins were complement proteins. A cluster analysis revealed protein levels to be strongly associated with BBB integrity, but not carriage of the Apolipoprotein E4-variant. Among cluster-derived proteins, innate immune pathways were upregulated. Forty unique proteins emanated as novel independent predictors of clinical outcome, that individually explained ~ 10% additional model variance. Among proteins significantly different between TBI patients with intact or disrupted BBB, complement C9 in CSF (p = 0.014, ΔR2 = 7.4%) and complement factor B in serum (p = 0.003, ΔR2 = 9.2%) were independent outcome predictors also following step-down modelling. CONCLUSIONS: This represents the largest concomitant CSF and serum proteomic profiling study so far reported in TBI, providing substantial support to the notion that neuroinflammatory markers, including complement activation, predicts BBB disruption and long-term outcome. Individual proteins identified here could potentially serve to refine current biomarker modelling or represent novel treatment targets in severe TBI.

Clinico-radiological Correlation with Outcome in Traumatic Pediatric Extradural Hematoma: A Single Institutional Experience.

BACKGROUND: Head injury is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the developing as well as developed countries. Extradural hematoma is seen in 1-2% of cases of head injury patients. Extradural hematoma is infrequent in the pediatric age group (less than 18 years) as duramater is tightly adherent to the inner table of the skull and is present in about 1-3% of all pediatric head injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a prospective study conducted in the Department of Neurosurgery at PGIMER, Dr. RML Hospital, New Delhi, over a period of 19 months with a follow-up of 6 months. In total, 38 patients were enrolled in the study. All traumatic extradural hematoma below 18 years of age of both sexes were included. Follow-up of all patients was done at 2 weeks, 1, 2, and 6 months. Noncontrast computed tomography (NCCT) head was done in all patients at the time of admission and whenever their neurological status deteriorated. Routine postoperative NCCT head was done. Outcome assessment was done by Glasgow outcome scale. RESULTS: Of the 38 children, 21 were males and 17 were females. The maximum number of patients was between the ages of 1-5 years (55.26%). Fall from height was the most common cause. Loss of consciousness was the most common presenting symptom (78.94%). Thirty-three patients had GCS of 14-15 at the time of presentation. The parietal region was the most common location of EDH in our study (44.74%). Thirty-five patients had supratentorial and three patients had infratentorial EDH. Eighteen patients had associated brain injury, commonest being brain edema. Six patients were operated. There was no mortality in our study. Two patients had limb paresis. CONCLUSION: Pediatric EDH is a rare entity but a potentially life-threatening condition. Prompt diagnosis and timely intervention decrease morbidity and mortality.

Functional Outcomes in Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit with Traumatic Brain Injury and Exposed to Hyperoxia: A Retrospective Multicentre Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Supplemental oxygen administration to critically ill patients is ubiquitous in the intensive care unit (ICU). Uncertainty persists as to whether hyperoxia is benign in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), particularly in regard to their long-term functional neurological outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective multicenter cohort study of invasively ventilated patients with TBI admitted to the ICU. A database linkage between the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database (ANZICS-APD) and the Victorian State Trauma Registry (VSTR) was utilized. The primary exposure variable was minimum acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) III PaO2 in the first 24 h of ICU. We defined hypoxia as PaO2 < 60 mmHg, normoxia as 60-299 mmHg, and hyperoxia as ≥ 300 mmHg. The primary outcome was a Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE) < 5 at 6 months while secondary outcomes included 12 and 24 months GOSE and mortality at each of these timepoints. Additional sensitivity analyses were undertaken in the following subgroups: isolated head injury, patients with operative intervention, head injury severity, and PaO2 either subcategorized by increments of 60 mmHg or treated as a continuous variable. RESULTS: A total of 3699 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 42.8 years, 77.7% were male and the mean acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) III score was 60.1 (26.3). 2842 patients experienced normoxia, and 783 hyperoxia. The primary outcome occurred in 1470 (47.1%) of patients overall with 1123 (47.1%) from the normoxia group and 312 (45.9%) from the hyperoxia group-odds ratio 0.99 (0.78-1.25). No significant differences in outcomes between groups at 6, 12, and 24 months were observed. Sensitivity analyses did not identify subgroups that were adversely affected by exposure to hyperoxia. CONCLUSIONS: No associations were observed between hyperoxia in ICU during the first 24 h and adverse neurological outcome at 6 months in ventilated TBI patients.

Surgical outcomes of Supra- Infra Tentorial Extradural Hematoma (SIEDH): A retrospective study from a single institution.

INTRODUCTION: Bicompartmental Supra plus Infratentorial Extra Dural Hematoma (SIEDH) is an uncommon yet important category of Extradural Hematoma (EDH) straddling the transverse sinus. It requires quick decision making and proper surgical evacuation. METHODS: We did a retrospective chart review of all SIEDH cases from prospectively maintained operative database in our institute between 2011 & 2017. Clinical status at discharge and follow up were used to assess outcome. Ordinal regression analysis was used for analysis of factors predicting the outcome. We also describe the surgical procedure we follow at our high-volume trauma center for this unique entity. RESULTS: We had 61 operated cases of SIEDH in our series. The median age of the cohort was 30 years (IQR: 21.5-42). Road Traffic Accident was the most common mode of injury (67.2 %). Median pre-operative GCS was 12 (IQR: 9-12). The median volume of SIEDH was 50cc (IQR: 40-70). Mass effect on 4thventricle and brainstem was seen in 47 and 34 patients respectively. An associated fracture was seen in 54 patients. Sinus injury related bleed was noted intra-operatively in 57 % (N = 35). Follow up was available for 60 cases with a median of 130 days. On evaluating with ordinal regression analysis, we found that, the GCS at presentation, pupillary asymmetry, volume of SIEDH, infratentorial volume, blood loss and mass effect on 4thventricle were statistically significant factors affecting GCS at discharge. However, the GCS at presentation, infratentorial volume and blood loss were the only factors determining GOS at follow-up. CONCLUSION: SIEDH are uncommon yet important type of injury type which requires prompt attention and appropriate nuanced approach. Large SIEDH are commonly associated with sinus injury, and large volume blood loss may be anticipated. In addition, SIEDH may be associated with other traumatic brain injuries which may require surgical evacuation.